Criterion 9. Monitor your service

Criterion 9 – Monitor your service

Continuous monitoring and measurement of services will ensure they operate smoothly, remain secure and cater for users’ evolving needs.

Your responsibilities

To successfully meet this criterion, agencies will need to:

establish a baseline for the service
identify the right performance indicators
measure, report and improve according to strategies.

When to apply

Apply Criterion 9 during Beta and Live and consider it during Discovery. Collate metrics and monitor the service with a holistic approach and report results to build government’s view of its services landscape.

Adhere to Criterion 9 across the Service design and delivery process to promote continuous improvement.

Questions for consideration

What attributes are currently being measured?
What do existing results say about the service or opportunity?
What is the story that the data tells us?
How have results changed over time?
What service improvements are necessary?

How to apply criterion 9

- Understand the current state: For existing services, determine the current state by identifying and reviewing existing metrics. For new services, establish a baseline for the problem identified in Criterion 1. Both are a yardstick to measure progress.
- Use benchmarks to gauge performance: Compare the service to similar services or existing standards to identify areas of improvement. Seek out best practices of similar and well-performing services to consider if they can be adopted.
- Select meaningful metrics: Collect metrics that accurately capture the service’s ability to deliver the outcomes that users expect. These might include adherence to design standards and privacy legislation, site/app performance, security benchmarks or tasks completed by users.
- Measure against the Data and Digital Government Strategy: Make sure the service meets the Data and Digital Government Strategy. Consider how information collected and reported could improve the service in line with the Strategy’s implementation plan.
- Apply benefits management: All digital and ICT-enabled investment proposals must define their purpose, outcomes and methods for measuring, monitoring and optimising them. Find out more in the Benefits Management Policy.

Guidance to monitor your service

To meet criteria 9 of the Digital Service Standard, refer to the Digital Performance Standard. The Performance standard is an extension of criteria 9 of the Service Standard.

Digital Service Standard